Paston the hero as All Whites qualify for South Africa

Nov 14, 2009, 8:08 GMT

Wellington - Goalkeeper Mark Paston was the hero for his side on Saturday as he saved a second half penalty to see New Zealand advance to the World Cup finals in South Africa next year through a 1-0 victory against Bahrain.

As the first leg of the play-off in Bahrain between the two sides ended in a goalless draw, the All Whites qualify for the finals on a 1-0 aggregate victory.

The only goal of the game was scored by Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Fallon with a header from a Leo Bertos corner in first half injury time.

The second half began with as much excitement as the first had ended, as Tony Lochhead brought down Abdulla Omar in the penalty area shortly after the restart and the referee immediately pointed to the spot, only for Paston, who plays for Wellington Phoenix in the Australian A League, to make a save from Sayed Mohamed's spot kick.

Thereafter Bahrain enjoyed most of the possession, but failed to find the breakthrough that would have taken them to their first-ever appearance at the World Cup finals.

Instead, it was a capacity 35,000 crowd in the Westpac stadium in Wellington that celebrated New Zealand's victory that saw them qualify for the World Cup finals for the second time since 1982.